Description: NESTS has tasked Kula with evaluating if a certain notorious Taiyo student's fighting skills are as strong as some claim. It's easy enough to bait Batsu into the open, but he proves to be no match for Kula's powerful, NESTS-infused abilities. Still, it may be that the Burning Fighter left an impression on her regardless...
Southtown High Schools contain a facinating mixture of individuals that go above and beyond the expectations of prior generations. What was in times past extraordinary power has become practically common place, with each student body containing a number of students that rise above their young ages to claw their way into the top percentile of fighters in the world. But even against the backdrop of so many named fighters, there are those students that rise even further, reaching heights that rightfully earn them the envy of even experienced, veteran fighters.
It's hard to say what lets teenagers reach such remarkable levels of power. It also calls into question what the future holds. With some youths rivaling veterans of the world, what does that mean ten years down the line when those powerful teens have another decade worth experience, growth, and learning under their proverbial belts? It's a thought provoking phenomenon that has NESTs scientists scratching their heads. Transcending the limits of human potential is a subject that the busy scientists have dedicated their lives to. There is at the head of their Cartel a man so very interested in the results of their research. Yet while billions of dollars and countless man hours have gone into /engineering/ individuals to such levels of fighting effectiness, there are teenagers in Southtown High schools that have reached such echelons seemingly without science's boon.
The question is: How? Is it genetics? Is it something outside the scope of DNA and chromosomes? Is it pure will power? Or maybe just teaching that goes far beyond that which most hopeful fighters can get? Surveying the rosters of the Southtown Highshools resulted in a couple names turning up that stood out as pinnacles of fighting potential.
Among those is one Batsu Ichimonji, son of Raizo Imawano - feared admninistrator of Justice High. A report was filed, lists drawn up, assignments handed out, and an operative dispatched. Just another day of Science in Action at NESTs. Baiting the teen to show up at Taiyo High well after hours seemed easy enough. He seemed the sort easily provoked with just a simple note on a Post-It note left on his door. 'I hear your punch is weak. If you've got the guts to prove otherwise, show up tonight, out behind the auditorium.' With the sun dipping low in the horizon, afternoon turns to evening, and night not far off, perhaps the time called out is 'now'.
What.
"WHAT."
The sound of it echoed through Southtown's streets late this afternoon, as Batsu -- weary from studying for yet another exam, just one in a list that never seems to STOP -- came to his front door. It was one of the rare nights when he beat Shizuku home; perhaps his mother had gone to see Raizo at Justice High now that the married couple could do so without too much fear of the wrath of the Imawano clan. Regardless, he's lucky he didn't take the door off; it was bad enough that his exclamation of dismay and fury set dogs to howling in the afternoon heat of oncoming summer, causing neighbors to turn out of their windows and berate Batsu for causing such a racket.
He clenched the note in his fist, all but THREW his schoolbag into the house, and shut and locked the door behind him as he left. This... will not stand.
NESTS is correct: it's really easy to manipulate Batsu to be where you want him to be. Of course, that presumes that you're going to like the result when you get there.
It's a bit of a hike back to Taiyo from Batsu's home in the suburbs, but rather than exhausting him, his mounting fury just energizes him that much more. Each sneakered step slams into the pavement like the banging of a low brass gong, heralding the approach of some terrible lord, bent on meteing out punishment to those who dare cross him. It's not entirely far from the truth, either.
Orange-gold sunset has given way to purple-blue dusk as Batsu finally arrives outside the school auditorium, the door slamming open (he walked through the building) as he erupts onto the scene, the vein in his prominent forehead just shy of the trademark cross-shaped scar throbbing with fury. "WHOEVER WROTE THAT NOTE BETTER SHOW UP RIGHT THE HELL NOW!" he thunders.
Hoo boy.
Well, that worked. Maybe even more than the profile experts back at the base had expected. They didn't just get Batsu to show, but got him to show up in a charged up, aggressvie state of mind. Analysists predicted that his style of fighting wasn't precisely a cold, calculating methodology, so getting him pumped up in some manner would help the research some.
Batsu's voice echos out over the campus as he storms out of the rear of the auditorium, but the response comes calmly, not containing anywhere near the vigor. "I'm afraid I didn't write it." Female, young, tone very honest and matter of fact, positioned at roughly 9 o'clock from Batsu. "But I did deliver it, if that helps." The note was written ahead of time, by one of those analysists who pulled together all the choice bits they determined would provoke the strongest reaction.
The owner of the voice is a girl that looks like she'd possibly qualify as a Freshman at Taiyo. But her distinct attire makes it easy to rule out as someone that has been seen at the campus before. A matching violet colored leather jacket and chaps worn over a form fitting, black body suit is the first thing to notice. The insulated yellow gloves on her hands might be the next thing. Or perhaps it's the waist length sky blue hair that drifts out behind the back of her head as if tossled by a wind local only to her, or the small, glimmering snowflakes that drift around her body, mosture crystalized by proximity alone.
"It's time for a test - for you and for me," the girl continues, "But this one isn't like the paper exams you have." She lifts her right hand, closing the glove into a loose fist, offering Batsu an innocuous enough smile. "You're still expected to prove that your punch isn't weak. People want to know if you're actually any good, or if you've just gotten by on luck all this time. I'm warningn you that if it is just luck, you may want to just walk away now. Luck won't work with me."
She's easy going enough, though, leaning her head to the side a bit. "If you need a moment to prepare, that's okay, but... if you don't take some kind of action in a very short bit, I'm going to attack you, all right?" Welcome to the Twilight Zone, Batsu.
One brown eyebrow goes up as a voice speaks; the Burning Fighter turns to his right to see the speaker, inclining his head somewhat in a gesture of attention that might be called imperious of someone with less... 'rumpled' bearing. Kula's an interesting sight, that's for sure; the clothing is striking, as is the bearing... and those ice crystals. It's said that people with a certain level of experience in fighting can 'sense' another fighter just through their stance and presence alone. While he might not know the mechanics of it, Batsu is one of those types... and Kula definitely sends a vibe that says she's way more dangerous than the innocent smile and petite body suggest.
"Pretty cocky for such a little thing," he says with a smirk, crossing his arms over his chest. A test, huh? Surprisingly, more than a few problem scenarios are suddenly running through his head. The Imawano clan, making a move in retribution after his father's rebellion? Or some other force interested in 'testing' the son of Raizo? It can't be some school thing; people are only too happy to call him out in public for that. He can't afford to be too fast and loose with this. "I don't think 'people' are gonna be disappointed..."
And then he's in stance, every inch a brawler; his entire body is tensed to move, but some residual sense of chivalry keeps him from doing his natural impulse to such an affront: sailing across the distance and smacking Kula right in the mush. She gets to EARN that privilege. "I don't know what your damage is, girly, but I hope these 'people' got band-aids on hand. You wanna see how strong my punch is? YOU GOT IT!"
COMBATSYS: Batsu has started a fight here.
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Batsu 0/-------/-------|
COMBATSYS: Kula has joined the fight here.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Batsu
"Not cocky," comes the reply, his smirk met with that same smile, her eyes a hint of red when contrast against the bright blue hair resting over her shoulders. "I just practice a lot, and I'm very good." She seems to adopt no fighting stance herself, her arms resting lazily against her sides, her hands occasionally clenching and unclenching her fingers as she gives him that brief moment she promised.
He mentions band-aids and she brightens a little, "Actually, they do! They have bunnies on them. But you can't have any until after we're done, okay?"
She stands still for several more seconds, and it begins to beg the question of whether or not she's going to do anything at all. But the threat was made earlier, and eventually she keeps it. "Okay, time's up. You're still here, so that means you're ready." She states matter of factly, eyes blinking once as she nods her head. "So here we go!"
And then she's off, charging toward Batsu. She's moving over the grass seperating them swiftly, but her feet seem to glide rather than obtain normal traction, as if she's skating moreso than running. To top it off, her hands are clasped behind her back, completing the appearance of skating over perfectly normal looking grass. Keeping her hands clasped behind her back, the girl twirls into a spin, her right leg snapping out in the process, aiming to deliver a fairly minor kick toward Batsu's stomach. She was told he might be the time who won't strike first without some provocation. So be it, let's get this started!
Of interest might be the thin blade of ice along the bottom of her thick shoe, looking very much like a skate, its edge razor sharp, threatening to add injury to the kick that would otherwise not be too impressive.
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Batsu with Light Kick.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Batsu
Now there's an interesting technique... an effective one too, if Kula's success in the matter is any indicator. The Burning Fighter's face reddens somewhat as the typical fury of battle starts to flow through his bloodstream. Perhaps he really does underestimate Kula despite her claims, because he only drops into a fighting stance at the last minute... and when the kick comes, the extra blade of frosty chi gives it more reach than Batsu's lazy defense anticipated. All this boils down to the Taiyo student taking a slicing, cold cut across the stomach that makes him stumble back a few steps, grunting in pain, a small cut in the fabric of his well-worn uniform jacket marking the kick's passing.
Interesting.
"Heh... not bad." He'll give credit where credit is due, after all, and Batsu throws that out as he gets back into stance, watching Kula carefully. Fool me once... now he's got to pay more attention. "And even if I was gonna need band-aids, I'll tie Shoma's dirty socks around my cuts before I'd resort to cute little bunnies." Risk infection rather than be cute? Clearly, he is some sort of madman.
"Anyhow, like I said, nice kick, but now it's..." And then he's leaping through the air in a low horizontal arc, looking to drop his foot onto Kula's shoulder like a crashing wave, the improvised axe/drop kick glowing with a halo of vibrant, deep blue chi, just one of the two forms that Batsu's own power can take. "...MY TURN!"
COMBATSYS: Kula dodges Batsu's Crescent Star Kick.
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Kula 0/-------/-------|=------\-------\0 Batsu
If only he knew just how easy that ice laced kick came for the girl, Kula not putting the slightest effort into the attack, finding it as natural to do as some people do breathing. The kicking foot snaps back down to the ground and Kula leans back, gliding back a couple of feet, hands still clasped behind her back, smile still present on her face. She needs to keep him worked up, provoke an attack... and it looks like she might have done her job well thus far. "What's wrong with bunnies?" she asks back, looking confused and just a little disgusted by the mention of dirty socks.
But Batsu's busy attacking, not talking about fluffy band-aids, and Kula forced to put her speed to the test in reacting to the incoming attack Batsu at last launches her way. It's quick, the young man springing into the air, his foot coming up, his leg encased with a flare of chi that threatens to add injury to the impact. And it would have hurt, too, had the girl not managed to skid to the side, out of the way of the intended impact. "Okay, my turn again!"
Her right hand is lifted, palm up, fingers toward Batsu. For a brief moment, he might even get the impression that she's about to blow him a kiss. But when the petite fighter exhales, it isn't puppy love she sends his way but rather a blisteringly cold blast of air. The pulse itself bears with it crystaline shards, sharp and jagged, and even a number of razor edged rings of ice, all of which threaten to do the young man harm should he be caught openly by the attack.
And even outside the direct blast of the attack, the temperature in their immediate vicinity seems to drop a few degrees... and it's probably not just because it's getting later either. "My name is Kula," the girl remarks, her right hand now encrusted with a layer of ice just from acting as guide for her chilly attack, "Kula Diamond," she clarifies, sounding unusually proud about her name.
COMBATSYS: Batsu endures Kula's Diamond Breath.
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Kula 0/-------/-----==|====---\-------\0 Batsu
Ah, Batsu. It's not just mental trickery that works on him; predictably, one can entice him to throw himself full-bore into attacking like a madman until whatever crazy rage engine that powers him winds down, he gets smacked into unconsciousness... or somehow raw talent pulls him through. So far, option 2's looking pretty likely, as Kula handily avoids his over-aggressive kick technique... and lashes out with a chilly burst of her own.
A bit weird he might be, but Batsu has enough sense to know that, despite the promise of hurting, hurling himself INTO that burst of ice may just be his only way to turn this situation to his advantage. Too close range to get out of the way, and all a stony defense is going to do is cost him momentum. It may SEEM thoughtless, but Batsu's decision to weather the storm is actually quite calculated... of course, his demeanor doesn't help to change the impression of wild stupidity. Bracing his arms in front of him, he lets out an inarticulate "RRRRRAAAAAAAAGH!" and charges RIGHT INTO the frost.
It's not without consequences. Chilly blades slice into his uniform shirt again, promising future mending as one consequence and some quality time with a can of Bactine as another. Two, the frosty wind means Batsu's forward movement isn't as rapid as he'd like... but it's far from enough to stop him. "Neat tricks..." he grinds out, moving his arms as he continues to bull rush forward and cocking one fist back. "BUT IT AIN'T ENOUGH TO STOP ME!" With brutish force and surprising speed, the Burning Fighter simply brings that fist forward and looks to end his charge by giving Kula a quick but mighty right cross. Looks like he WILL hit girls... in the face, too... if they provoke him enough.
COMBATSYS: Kula blocks Batsu's Medium Punch.
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Kula 0/-------/----===|====---\-------\0 Batsu
The frosty breath slows Batsu a little, but not as much as Kula had anticipated. His decision to barrel through the attack is quite different from what she's used to from most opponents. Usually they, well, try to defend themselves, rather than ripping into the piercingly cold assault with reckless abandon. Thus it is that her speed, remarkable as perhaps it is, isn't enough to get her out of the way cleanly, and Kula is forced to rely on more dependable defense, bringing her arms up and crossing them in front of her to intersect his strike for her face.
The impact is significant, sending the lighter fighter stumbling a little, her arms flailing out to her sides as she catches her balance a couple steps later. "Just tricks? Oh, no, it's much more than that," Kula states quietly, lowering her stinging arms out of the way, red-tinted eyes peering back at Batsu with a somewhat different expression. She looks more serious, the smile has been reduced to a thin trace along her lips, the borderline child-like friendliness gone from her expression. Now that she's felt what Batsu can do, even if not cleanly, she can better gauge the force needed to deal with him.
"My energy is special," she speaks back. "Maybe you just haven't felt enough of it yet." She decides to rectify that, reaching her right hand forward, palm toward Batsu, fingers open. A halo of pure white expands out from her hand, staying in place as she draws her arm back from it. The sphere of unshaped chi hovers in mid-air for a moment as Kula then steps forward, spinning into a powerful kick right through the cloud of power as she targets Batsu's chest.
In passing through the field of energy, her leg becomes coated with a literal boot of jagged ice, spikes pointing out from it in all directions as she aims to drive the foot into the Taiyo student. If given the chance, she'll snap her foot down, the ice cracking off of her boot as she then steps in with her other foot, that leg taking the rest of the white chi and converting it into a swath of blisteringly cold energy that she attempts to drive into Batsu with her other leg as a second strike. Again, all the energy she throws around seems effortless for her, as if she could do this all night. "Is this enough to stop you?" comes the curious question right in-between the two kicks.
COMBATSYS: Batsu fails to interrupt Strong Kick from Kula with Guts Upper.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Batsu
Not exactly what he was expecting, but Batsu was at the very least prepared to respond in kind to whatever Kula could throw at him. Backing off on the defensive might be the smarter thing to do for sure, but it's not really Batsu's style, not by a longshot. Thus even as the bizarre white energy forms between himself and Kula, he smirks, one fist cocked back behind him, not moving. The smart thing to do is get out of the way, but since when has Batsu ever done the smart thing? Not terribly often.
"Ice ain't that special," the Burning Fighter says offhandedly, watching Kula's movements. "Comes regular every winter." Is he dense? Not exactly. Batsu's fought plenty of people with amazing chi powers, not the least of which is his cousin Kyosuke and his precise and powerful control over lightning chi. If he knew more about the way of chi than he does -- perhaps like Kyosuke or Sakura do -- he might notice that Kula doesn't even break a sweat throwing this much power around... as it is, he just thinks of her as a brat with a particularly shiny sort of energy. One of his best friends punches sunflowers, for god's sake; how special can ICE be?
And yet, even as he's decrying the specialness of Kula's ice, his own cocked fist suddenly bursts with a halo of blue, and then a corona of red-orange chi flame. With a roar, he dives forward, looking to knock Kula right out of her complex kick. Sadly, it doesn't exactly work out the way he'd hoped; her legs are longer than they look and the 'boot' gives them extra reach; he'd hoped to swing up and smack her airborne, but he just can't get the reach before the combination kick attack sends him sprawling backwards, skidding across the ground in a crouch. At least there's no permanent damage to his wardrobe this time... but compared to fresh-as-a-daisy Kula, Batsu looks like he's in pretty bad shape.
Not that you'd know it to hear him talk.
"That all you got, sister?" he bites out, wiping a hand across his mouth and flicking it to the side with a brief swirl of red blood. "The blonde prettyboy with the fancy boots hits harder than that. And a little news flash: you wanna stop me, better bring more than sno-cones."
Kula's foot snaps down, the icy boot coating it shattering into fine crystals at her feet. And for the first time this encounter, she's starting to look annoyed. How dare he mock her special power. NESTs' gift, a modified version of the divinely blessed Kusanagi flames, twisted to become their exact counterpart. And he thinks it's nothing special?! Kula's lips are pressed tightly into a neutral expression, eyes narrowing just slightly.
She doesn't advance as he lands after her attack, only glaring back at him a bit petulantly as he continues to deride the power of her attacks. Breathing in, breathing out, the girl looks like she's on the verge of either yelling at him or breaking down into a fit of childish crying at being poked fun at. For a moment her hands tighten into gloved fists, the temperature around her dropping another few degrees.
Exhaling slowly, Kula walks forward a few steps, as if intending to continue the assault on him to prove her point. But after a few feet she comes to a stop, silently leaning forward, bending one knee to allow her to press her hands against the grass covered ground. "No. No that is not all I got." she replies tersely. And then it happens, beginning as a small pool of ice forming where her hands rest against the ground.
But it expands out quickly from there, a rapidly growing ice slick that streatches out from her in every direction, forming her own veritable ice rink right then and there. Exhaling slowly, her breath strangely visible as fine vapor, Kula fixes her eyes on Batsu, her arms back to resting against her sides. Whether or not he's immediately on the ice, he's going to have to figure out how to contend with it if he hopes to press an attack against the NESTs operative.
COMBATSYS: Kula focuses on her next action.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|======-\-------\0 Batsu
He's staying relatively cocky, but that's mainly because it's just the way Batsu is... in truth, he's really feeling the pain of repeated boots to the head and/or non-head body parts, especially when Kula seems to lace every attack in her arsenal with that potent frost. Sure, he claimed it wasn't anything special -- and it's still not, at least as far as its actual existence -- but that doesn't mean it's only for show. Quite the contrary. One eyebrow goes farther up as she does that little trick, the icy chi spreading across the ground at him. No, that's not all she got indeed...
But she ain't the only one.
Batsu doesn't press his attack either. Instead, he crosses his arms over his face... and then throws his arms down, hands curled into fists so tight his knuckles go white, mouth open and letting out a barely articulate kiai. If there is one saving grace, one actual BENEFIT to Batsu's total inability to think in terms of long-term tactics, it's that punching him (even with lots of ice) doesn't do anything but make him stronger. Of course, if he can actually use that strength before the wounds that gave it to him catch up to him is another thing entirely.
The frost snakes across the ground, looking to make footing a little slippery... but with that scream of Batsu's comes a sudden, blazing burst of white-hot chi fire around his body, the 'true' manifestation of Batsu's potent, if inexpertly applied, energy... a corona that burns cerulean blue at the edges. More importantly, that searing, GUTS-powered flame gives him one brief advantage: it eats away at the ice as it crowds toward him. Evading would be hard -- the circle's not that big considering Kula's latent power -- but if he stands his ground, his chances are significantly better than they would be on the ice. His face is a wild grin of recklessness, a promise of future mayhem, as he directs more taunts at Kula. "Oh yeah, popsicle? Good. WHY DON'T YOU COME OVER HERE AND SHOW ME THEN?!"
COMBATSYS: Batsu gathers his will.
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Kula 0/-------/---====|=======\==-----\1 Batsu
The slick threatens the Taiyo student's footing as it encroaches over the grass to encompass the entire area around Kula. Thin, slippery, the surface presents not the slightest challenge for to navigate. But can the same be said of her target? She waits patiently, perhaps expecting the brash youth to come barreling across the ice with reckless abandon, into whatever painful experience she's got in mind for him.
But perhaps her painful strikes have provoked him to dig deeper. Her own techniques come to her instinctually. She has not the experience to read fighters consciously, but in the span of only months, she was programmed with thousands of subconscious combat algorithms to help put her deadly power to use effectively. But the taunting, the dismissive attitude of the brown haired young man has her conscious irritation playing havoc with her instincts. Gloved hands tighten into fists at her sides as his blazing hot chi keeps a portion of that expanding ice at bay, leaving his feet planted on nice, friction-friendly grass.
Her instincts say to keep a distance. Attack at range. Force him onto the temporary ice slick where she holds an undeniable advantage. But the brazen, loud challenge manages to push Kula into a state of mind practically no one has ever managed to get her before. Batsu has her fighting /annoyed/. "I think that I will do just that. But you will regret it!" she declares, breathing in then exhaling one more time, her misty breath joining the fine mist rising up from the ice. Her combat routines can take a back seat for now. She wants to get close, to hit him with something more visceral than a clinically fired icy projectile from safe distance.
And then she's charging, speeding forward a violet blur. Like a fish able to speed downstream, Kula is able to not just speed over the ice, but /mold/ it as she moves, propelling her even faster. And as she zips into proximity, a mighty rush of ice has built up in her wake, ripping up off of the ground, building up into a collosal whirlwind of frozen wrath.
Even if he sees her in time when she's at last next to him, he may not have the time to defend himself as she carelessly reaches through that blazing chi, hoping that her leather armor jacket and protective gloves will shield her from the worst of any potential harm in doing so. One hand is going for his throat - a simple but ruthless squeeze intended with as best she can manage with her small hand. Her other hand goes for his shoulder, going to grip him tightly, to hold him in place.
But it's all a prelude to what comes next as that mass of blisteringly cold power that built up behind her rushes forward, attempting to smash into Raizo's boy with crushing force, threatening to entomb him entirely and punish him right then and there for his disrespectful attitude! If so entrapped, the ice will condense in around him, shifting, becoming perfectly translucent, allowing him to see out of his icy coffin. It would be at that point that Kula would at last withdraw her hands, slipping them easily out of the ice block and resting them against the surface instead, pouring her power into the frozen matter to keep it in its compressing state for as long as her strength will allow. It would be with a teeth gritted gasp that she would have to let go in the end, allowing the ice to collapse into a pile of crystaline shards sufficient enough to pile up around Batsu's shins.
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Batsu with Ice Coffin.
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Kula 0/-------/-======|=======\=======\1 Batsu
Just because you can see it coming doesn't mean you can do something about it.
Batsu, unlike Kula, *wouldn't* have expected her to keep her distance. He tends to think other fighters think like he does: they're going to come barreling right in. That's how he likes it; it's not that Batsu's incapable of tactics, he just finds them boring, a fact that has driven poor Kyosuke to distraction on more than one occasion. But there's also the fact that unlike other fighters, getting angry doesn't really make Batsu lose his cool, per se. He's one of those rare types that just gets better as he gets angrier.
Still...
Any taunt Batsu might give is cut off by Kula's hand around his throat. He hadn't expected that; and while she might be able to feel his body resisting, getting ready to go slack so he can spring to action when she's done doing... whatever... the 'whatever' turns out to be a full-body encasement in ice. Maybe in her angry state, the NESTS girl will get some satisfaction in seeing Batsu express GENUINE surprise -- and maybe even some terror -- at that. Not, perhaps, at the damage; Kula's done just as bad with other attacks in this fight. But at the EXPERIENCE of it. There is something primal and terrifying about being completely trapped... unable to breathe, unable to move.
When the ice shatters, Batsu's composure shatters with it.
"You..." he grinds out, coughing and wiping the resultant blood from his lips with his mouth, body hunched in a kneeling position on the ground. "You are..."
And then, somehow, improbably... he's moving.
That white-hot flame roars, twice as intense as it was before. Something inside him snapped at that... not a desire to take this girl on as a challenger anymore, or a potential threat... but a primal need to WIPE HER FROM EXISTENCE. Apparently it IS possible to kick Batsu over into a level of fury that makes him less than what he normally is. But in the end it might not work out for Kula the way she'd prefer...
One fist launches forward, looking to slam the girl into the ground with brute force alone... and it's quickly followed up a completely vertical shattering uppercut, combined with a sudden, explosive gout of chi flame like the takeoff burst of a rocket, looking to send Kula into the sky. "GUTS! UPPERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"
COMBATSYS: Batsu has reached second wind!
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Kula 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Batsu
COMBATSYS: Kula blocks Batsu's Maximum Guts Upper.
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Kula 0/-------/=======|===----\-------\0 Batsu
For that moment he's frozen, his brief exposure to the terror of being locked in place by that strong as steel block of cold, deathly ice is met with a steady, meriless stare from the girl enjoying the freedom of the world outside of the icy cage. Perhaps she would keep him there indefinitely, if it were within her power. Pull her hands back and leave the icy mass to simply sit there in the field, leaving the young man a frozen monument to be found come morning. But even her deep well of energy has its limits and at last she's forced to release him, the ice collapsing down all around, her own breath coming as a soft gasp after having held it the entire time he was encased.
Perhaps he views her differently now. Perhaps Batsu has been exposed to the monsterous freak the sky blue haired girl really is. The product of science of the most malevolent nature, frightfully amoral at the core, her ethics etched out slowly through life experiences of the strangest kinds. Perhaps he would do the world a favor if he could remove NESTs' pride and joy from existence, and that destructively powerful uppercut he launches at her may very well posess some of the power that would be needed to do just that, to keep that merciless girl from being able to threaten anyone else ever again.
The punishing, chi laced punch comes smashing toward the girl but Batsu is shown that for every bit as deadly as her ice can be as a weapon, it is also a very effective defense. Her left hand paints through the air, fingers spread apart, palm facing Batsu, leaving in its wake a thick barrier of ice in the path of his fist. Her right hand echos the gesture, creating a second, equally thick barrer.
The force behind that attack shatters through the first, sending shards flying everywhere. The second one only manages to slow him down a little as it too is rendered into fine powder. But by the time the remaining momentum gets through to the girl, she's crossed her arms over her chest and face, bunkering down to weather out the rest of the strike.
The force is tremendous, crushing through her guard in spite the lack of a clean hit, sending her reeling back significantly, arms flailing at her sides as she takes several steps backward onto the ice now reduced to a big field of slush. But for the reinforced leather jacket, the first strike alone might have broken her forearm. But her staggering backward puts her out of the range of the uppercut that follows, feet splashing down into the slushy mess, red-hued eyes widened, mouth open with some surprise. She was to find the level he could be pushed to, to accertain his power and potential, to identify him as one of the elites the schools of Southtown have to put forward. And in that moment she knows she's undeniably confirmed what she came to find out.
"His punch isn't that weak," she murmurs softly in the brief moment of time she has as he ascends into his uppercut, rubbing her right forearm with her left hand, wincing at the bruising skin beneath her jacket. But now that the job's done, she's going to finish this, stepping forward deliberately to position herself where she determines he is going to land. Her right arm swings forward, hand open, targeting Batsu's rib cage, only to pause for a brief instant... her fingers close and a crushingly powerful punch completes that final, deceptively small inch to try and make contact with a fiercesome punch, even if it happens to be bereft the ice that powered so many of her attacks.
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Batsu with One Inch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Kula 1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0 Batsu
He's still standing, perhaps... but Batsu's been in better shape than this. The fury is etched on his face even as he swings out of that attack, not even processing the ice barriers as he just pushes right on through them. That is, after all, his life philosophy: push on through. Nothing's going to stop you but yourself and your own self-imposed limits. If he really is one of Southtown's elites -- if he really has the potential that people say he does -- then he can make it happen. 'Courage can turn 1% into 100%' isn't just an internet meme for Batsu Ichimonji: it's a fact of life. But right now he's managing to turn 1% into something around 40% at best. There's only so much you can do to him before even his resilience is taxed out.
Case in point: that deceptively simple punch. Frowning, the Burning Fighter takes deep, heavy breaths as he sees Kula still on her feet after his most powerful assault, and then retaliate with one of her own. For a brawler it's a tricksy little piece of confectionary, something someone with more finesse might recognize as appropriately dangerous. Batsu, in his fatigue, underestimates it and tries to backstep quickly... but not far enough. Thus Kula takes her inch, the blow sending Batsu stumbling back a few steps with a look of pain and confusion. On the other hand, it seems to snap him out of his pain-induced stupor.
And he's got something to say about THAT.
"You... you don't do that sort of thing in a fight," Batsu bites out, eyes hooded, teeth grinding and fists clenched. "Whatever that was? That's not how things work." His face comes up, and is suddenly lined with terrible fury, his voice ratcheting up the volume precipitously. "UNDERSTAND?! TESTING STRENGTH IS ONE THING, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING ELSE!"
With a roar, he lunges forward, pivots on one leg, and attempts to drive his foot into Kula's stomach with all the force left in his body. It's slow, even considering Batsu's fatigued state... but he's simply lashing out to make the strange and murderous girl go away, NOW. "GET OUT OF MY SCHOOL!"
COMBATSYS: Kula fails to interrupt Strong Kick from Batsu with Diamond Shell.
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Kula 0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0 Batsu
Her hand draws back after delivering that deceptive punch of hers, fingers unclenching slowly as she stands up straight. A clean hit like that, after all he's been through... that should do the job. Or so she thought. Having taken out a lot of her short, rare flare of temper with that crushing, claustrophobiac's nightmare, she's calmed back down significantly.
But when push comes to shove, he's /still/ standing. And speaking at that. His words may not the reaction he was looking for as she blinks, "It's what I was taught." she replies matter of factly. "It's what I do." But he reacts with frenzy, rage, his voice resonating out over the campus, reveberating against windows before echoing into the night. The roar that follows actually startles Kula, the girl taking a step backward, waving her left hand through the air again, creating one more of those icy barriers.
Another step back is taken as she brings her arms in, crossed over her chest, and begins to huddle slightly, drawing heavily on the slush at her feet, icy rising up, readying for a powerful counterlash against the incoming attack.
But Batsu gets their first, smashing through the barrier first and then into the petite monster with his foot. Smashed in the stomach, Kula is crushed right out of her building attack as she's knocked clean off her feet onto her back a few yards away, sliding through the mixture of ice, water, and grass for another yard further. The frozen matter she was drawing up into the counter strike collapses harmlessly, joining the rest of what remains of the ice slick as the entire mess begins to melt away rapidly.
Her left hand goes to press against her stomach as she curls up into a sitting position, right hand propping her up. She hisses a little, tucking her feet under her and rising up to full standing again. "Something else? That something else is for /executions/." she states at last. "You should be glad to have survived. It means you are as strong anticipated." Perhaps she should have elaborated on the stakes of being 'insufficiently strong' when this ordeal began, hm?
"Then what you do is WRONG!" Batsu fires back, pulling his leg back and returning to his 'stance', that loose, boxing-like standing of the body common to brawlers who need to be a quick on their feet as with their fists. "I don't mind gettin' punched, kicked, tossed around... hell, even people shootin' weird-colored light blobs at me." Taking a step forward, the Burning Fighter actually *advances* on Kula despite his fatigue, despite his pain, despite his being on the brink of unconsciousness. It's been a long time since he actually felt the need to SAY something like this to another fighter... not since he had it out with Hyo Imawano, with Kyosuke and Hinata by his side. Proving that what he knew to be right and true wasn't just words.
Another step. Another. "Fighters don't do 'executions'. Even the ones with swords and sticks and whatever. The fight's about... something. Not about killin' people. At least here at Taiyo that's how we do things." The steps come quicker now, a rapid pata-pata noise that increases as Batsu hurls himself into a dead run. "Fightin's' for protecting what you believe in!"
Unexpectedly, the Burning Fighter suddenly leaps up from his run, angling at Kula with a forward flipping jump before extending one foot and aiming it right for her shoulder from midair. It lacks the chi-laced aura of the more expansive version of this attack, Batsu having used most of his energy just to keep himself upright. But that falling arrow, like the lance of justice from some angry god, still rockets downward with impressive speed. "AND WHAT YOU'RE SELLIN' AIN'T WORTH FIGHTING FOR!"
COMBATSYS: Batsu successfully hits Kula with Medium Kick.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\ < > ///// ]
Kula 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\0 Batsu
He declares defiantly that what she does is /wrong/, in every sense of the word, and Kula looks taken aback at first, hand raised defensively, left foot sliding backward just a little. And thus it is that Kula finds herself being lectured on what fighting is about. Again. This speech is different than the last. Sakura spoke of the fun of fighting, the striving to do one's best and improve in the face of challenge, even if it hurts a lot.
The Taiyo student speaks of something a bit more esoteric to the girl though. He speaks about what fighters DON'T do. They don't try to kill. Even though everything they do to each other to harm one another, to claw out victory through punch, kick, stab, or choke, they don't do /that/. They don't go that extra step that Kula seems not the least bit shy about. He describes the fight itself as being about something and her brow furrows. Fighting has always been homework for her. Most kids get told to clean their room, she gets dispatched to ruin some Taiyo kid's night and possibly kill him if he isn't up to surviving the deadly attacks that factor into that test...
But there's another aspect he touches on she had never even thought about before. Fighting is for /protecting what you believe in/. Kula is rendered silent at that, eyes seeming to lose their focus. Part of her wants to dismiss his rant as she has many other attempts to get through to her. The constant lies of those in the 'outside world' NESTs warned her about. But while Batsu is many things, one thing he doesn't come across as is a liar. No one screams like that when they're trying to deceive you.
He chages again, taking to the air, his foot dropping down to crash into her. She should focus on him rather than his words. Stop trying to judge the merit of his words and finish this task completely. Her right hand lifts, brushing some of her long bangs up out of her eyes as she tries to slip to the side at the same time, realizing at the last second that she doesn't really want to get /kicked/. But he hits her all the same, dropping her to a crouch, her hands catching her from face planting completely.
She's slow to recover. She's dug deep to press him as hard as she did, and now she's paying the price. Tapping into her reserves, she draws some of the water up from the ground at her feet, the liquid flowing over her arm at first before hardening into a glass-like glove with a single spike pointing out over the knuckles. "Tell me then," she whispers, lunging out of her crouch, aiming to plant that fist into his stomach, "What is worth fighting for..."
COMBATSYS: Kula successfully hits Batsu with Medium Punch.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ < > / ]
Kula 0/-------/--=====|=======\=------\1 Batsu
The nonsense ninja backflips off of Kula, rebounding from that kick to land in a crouch much like the one she's driven into... yet he can feel his strength fading with each passing second as well. Thus he can't really take advantage of that brief shift in momentum; it takes him less time to get to his feet than it does Kula, but that doesn't mean much. It does give him enough time to answer her question, at least in part, as she prepares to strike back.
"Friends. People... hurtin' other people just to do it. Your family. Your honor. Stuff that's *right*."
He can see the spike-gloved punch coming at him... see it, but not do a lot about it. Kula may be worn down from the unexpected turn of the battle, but so is Batsu. Gritting his teeth, he tries to spin out of the way of the punch and takes the spiked ice knuckle right in the side for his trouble. It's not enough to knock him over, but it is enough to send him skidding across the remains of the ice, clutching the puncture in his side and feeling the chill on his skin from the ice mixed with the sudden warmth and coppery tang of blood. Not a lot of it, but enough to kick him over the edge. Unless there's some miracle reserve of power inside him even HE doesn't know about, this is the end.
He's going down fighting, though... this much is clear.
With great effort, and a grunt/moan of pain, the Burning Fighter gets to his full height one last time. "You gotta believe in somethin'. If you don't believe in nothin', what's the point of fighting?" Unlike his previous short steps -- steps filled with resolve -- Batsu's forward walk now is staggered with pain and fatigue. But he's going to give this one last hurrah. "I got where I am... 'cause I had something to protect. Somethin' to believe in." The walk becomes an unsteady run, and then a short leap into the air... and then Batsu reprises the diving kick. This one, however, is different: more force, for sure, but also a brilliant halo of eye-searingly deep blue chi. If the previous aerial kick was a divine arrow, this is a thunderbolt... retribution from some angry being in the sky. "RYUUSEI KICK!"
COMBATSYS: Batsu can no longer fight.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kula 0/-------/--=====|
COMBATSYS: Kula reflects Maximum Shooting Star Kick from Batsu with Counter Shell.
[ \\\\\\\\\\\ <
Kula 0/-------/-======|
She strikes him with that puncturing ice, driving him back while taking a step back as well. Blood drips from that spike on her clenched hand as the ice guantlet cracks and falls to the ground as tiny shards, melting instantly upon contact with the grass. All around her, in fact, the evidence of her icy attacks has melted away, leaving only damp landscaping in its wake. But while she's expended nearly all of her resources, she isn't quite out yet.
Batsu lists things he thinks are worth fighting for. Friends. She can picture fighting for friends, perhaps, if her friends ever needed it... To stop people hurting others - she might if they were hurting someone within the Cartel that gave her life, but maybe not... unless told to do so. Family. She pictures Diana... Foxy... the closest things she can think of as being family. She would fight for them she thinks. Honor. What's that?
He speaks of believing in something but perhaps he's come to wonder if she's hearing anything at all with the almost blank stare she answers him with. As the boy staggers forward, Kula stands her ground, arms resting at her sides. He speaks of what carried him to this point. What allowed him to survive attacks from her that crossed a certain line with the boy. What allows him even now to stagger toward her when he should have been broken on the ground by now. Something to protect. Something to believe in. Something that compells him to leap gain, descending toward the girl in a final blaze of glory.
The ground all around her is aglow with the chi powering that diving kick from the heavens. It is with a tired arm that she falls back on defenses designed to contend with someone else other than Batsu. An ice wielder made to defeat a fire user, it comes as no surprise that she's able to defy the blazing energy descending toward her now.
Her left hand paints the sky again, leaving in its wake a solid barrier. But that's simply to buy her a split second of time. It is her right hand that does the rest, sweeping in front of her, creating a field of swirling frost. Shapeless and without support, it would be no defense at all if it wasn't for what comes next as she draws her right hand back and inserts it into the flurry of snow.
There is a white shimmer of energy that courses up from her feet, past her torso, and down her extended arm. And the instant that flash of white chi comes in contact with the snow flurry the entire mass is transformed into a shimmering, reflective mirror. As unbreakable as diamond, that surface stops Batsu's dive flat, pushing some of his energy right back at him with perhaps just enough force to drop him to the ground at last.
The barrier becomes fine white powder an instant later, blowing off to the side like so much thrown salt at the slightest breeze in the cool night air, leaving Kula standing there unharmed. "I got where I am because I was made to." she states softly, lowering her arm to rest against her side. In that defense she spent the last of her strength, however, and even as the water left behind by her attacks rises up off the ground as evaporating mist, that icy blue melts out of her long hair, leaving light, auburn locks against her shoulders. "And yet," she continues, her tone becoming cold even as the temperature around her begins to raise back toward its natural levels, "Look who is still standing."
There's no miracle waiting to save Batsu, in the end; he rebounds off Kula's complex but highly effective shield like a rubber ball hitting a wall, sending him tumbling backwards in an ungainly sprawl across the now-wet grass outside the auditorium. He doesn't get up, not immediately; certainly he stays down long enough for Kula's statement to have the desired effect. She is indeed the one 'still standing'; though the fight's gone out of him, it's only Batsu's body that objects. Or at least, it's the one that's not only making it impossible for him to do more than get up into a kneeling crouch, but also makes his vision swim with overwhelming pain and fatigue.
"Heard people say... 'that's just what life dealt me'..." Batsu bites out, angry at himself for losing to someone he thinks is fighting for all the wrong reasons, annoyed at himself for not being more careful and telling someone where he was going. Full, perhaps, of should've-could'ves, though not necessarily full-on regret. Something positive may still have happened here, perhaps. "Heh. People who steal 'cause they're poor. People who get mad and beat others up 'cause they're different and folks won't leave 'em alone..." That last one certainly couldn't apply to anyone here, could it? Pshaw, no.
There's a wet *THUMP* as Batsu's fist hits the ground next to him, and he still has the energy to speak with intensity, even if not volume. "Excuses! I don't care what you're 'made to' do... you can either be a good person, a strong person, or you can decide to use that as your excuse to do whatever the hell ya want!" Hyo, and indeed even Raizo, trapped at first in the Imawano clan's endless cycle of hatred. What did it cost Batsu? His early childhood. A father. Eventually, it briefly cost him his mother... and all of that led him to realize that what you're handed doesn't mean anything. People can change. Kyosuke changed, Hyo changed. Even Roy Bromwell changed.
There's a pause, as the Burning Fighter takes a series of long, deep breaths. A little more worn out than he thought, perhaps. "Ya got power, I'll give ya that. Gonna take... a lot of training after this. But... I'ma beat you next time. 'Cause you're messed up somehow, and maybe it's gonna take someone pushin' that into your skull with their fist to make you see it."
As he speaks, she stays back, evaluating his condition, eyes open if a little unfocused, fatigue keeping her from moving about much at all as her body works overtime to recouperate her spent strength. He dismisses perhaps the biggest reason she does anything at all in life. Because she was made to. An excuse, perhaps, when one has the bigger picture on what life's all about. But like a race horse that knows only to race, Kula knows only to fight when and where she's told.
Then he presents one of those difficult concepts to her. The idea of choice. The choice to be good, decide her own fate, or chose to continue living as she has known all her very short life, as a tool. She told Shurui she was going to start making choices. That she needed to do 'research' first so she could decide. But right now she's not ready. She just doesn't know what to do, her lips curling into a faint frown.
He speaks of a future fight, and Kula's eyes open wider at first, then narrow just a little as she starts to stalk toward him slowly. Even with her icy powers on cooldown timers, she's still perfectly capable of being lethal. "Next time? Who said anything about a next ti-" Her voice cuts out, her foot coming down with a splash into the grass, her right hand going up to rest at her ear. Her focus no longer on Batsu, she pauses for a moment, then speaks into the empty air, "Okay..."
Without another word she turns then, following orders, lock step as she always has, and begins to stride away from Batsu, her brow furrowed, her mind a whirlwind of confusion. The young menace stops after ten paces and stands still; eventually looking over her shoulder back at Batsu. He really IS different from so many she's faced. His purposes his own, just like Sakura had her own reasons. "Next time." she states, giving him a long, searching look. He knows something. There's something about how he talked, fought, and behaved. He knows something about living life and fighting. And as she at last turns to continue off further into the fields to disappear into the darkness, she can't help but wish she knew what he knew.
Given its minute size, there's almost no way anyone would notice the microcamera concealed near some trash cans out behind the auditorium. It would be gone by morning, but for right now, that tiny eye has served to feed the footage of the entire fight back to those who sent Kula to do their biding in the first place. A few scientsts murmur to themselves, watching the large video monitor that has shown them the whole fight They sent their best and Batsu lasted that long, pushing her further than they had anticipated. They mumble a couple of words back and forth until in the end they nod their heads in agreement and shuffle out of the lab to attend to other tasks within the safty of the NESTs base. One of the technicians left behind turns around to finish the report on his screen. Tabbing down to the field labeled 'Anticipated Future Threat Level', he taps a few more keys before hitting 'Save' and leaving his desk to get a drink. Left behind in the field is a single word, highlighted in red by an automatic context parsing process:
"SIGNIFICANT."
Log created on 21:11:09 06/08/2008 by Batsu, and last modified on 17:57:14 06/14/2008.